About Foam Insulation

Air moves in and out of a home through every hole, crack, and crevice. Roughly 33% of air infiltrates through walls, ceiling, and floors. Adding an advanced insulation system is necessary to achieve optimal building performance. Lapolla is that advanced insulation system.
Spray foam insulation can maximise a homeowner’s investment by sealing the building envelope to stop conditioned indoor air from escaping and prevent unconditioned air from entering a home. Air exchange in and out of a home is a leading cause of escalated energy bills. The mechanical systems that heat and cool buildings are continuously operating; reducing extreme temperature variations saves on the overuse of mechanical systems and leads to lower energy bills.

Water and moisture in the building envelope is the single, greatest threat to building durability in residential construction. In addition to causing building-durability issues, moisture can create ideal conditions for mould growth, which can dramatically impact occupant health.

Building scientists are now stressing the importance of air barriers like spray foam insulation in building design and construction. This is partly because many buildings constructed in the past had no air barriers and experienced major failures in terms of moisture damage and mould caused by condensation, which stemmed from air leakage. In addition, research shows that without an air barrier, insulation cannot deliver optimal energy efficiency or comfort. This is why blower door tests are commonly required to measure air tightness in new or renovated buildings.

Practicing building science, also known as a “systems approach,” means accounting for the ways all building components interact, including the foundation, walls, lofts, roofs, doors, windows, insulation and mechanical systems. Doing so is critical to optimise building performance and prevent building failures.

Last but not least the building occupants must be educated to behave properly to limit energy losses; the most optimised building with the best insulation will be useless if the occupants do not respect the environment.

The principles of building science include:

• Creating a continuous air barrier combined with proper mechanical ventilation
• Providing thermal resistance and limiting heat bridges
• Managing moisture
• Improving indoor air quality
• Using appropriate heating systems.

The Lapolla AirTight spray foam insulation that we install addresses all of these principles to help building and design professionals practice building science techniques with ease. The benefits are verified through extensive research and testing performed on all Lapolla products worldwide.